Islam Times - New research has revealed that the number of British people who die due to fuel poverty is three times more than what the government has estimated, with campaigners calling the number “horrifying.”

A research study carried out by fuel poverty expert Professor Christine Liddell of the University of Ulster has revealed that nearly 8,000 people die during winter as a result of fuel poverty, reported the Independent on Tuesday.

The latest estimate put forth by the British government showed that the number of people who die because they are not able to heat their homes properly stood at 2,700 a year.

“I believe the figure of 7,800 is much more realistic as it is based on WHO’s [World Health Organisation] most recent estimates of deaths relating to cold and damp homes,” said Liddell.

Transform UK, the leading organization which campaigned for the Energy Bill Revolution, severely criticised the British government for failing to tackle fuel poverty as it described the figures as “horrifying.”

“These figures are horrifying. You can’t call yourself a developed country and allow this many people to die from living in cold homes,” said Ed Matthew, director of Transform UK.

“These deaths are totally preventable. This is perhaps the greatest test of whether this Government has an ounce of true compassion and moral fibre,” he added.

Furthermore, the leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas MP, said the cost of heating one’s home in Britain is so high that British people are faced with the choice between “heating their homes and feeding their families.”